Shades of Green - Paul Waddington

This book is acclaimed as a book of choices, being green given on a “Green Scale”.

On first reading it is well set out – Clear and concise. Each individual topic is written clearly and under the heading deemed by the author as Deep Green, Dark Green or not green. However there are some subjects within the book which are slightly worrying – Drugs for example – why glorify ‘green’ friendly drugs when our society is so desperately trying to get rid of them and their effects. This in my opinion is irresponsible journalism. These topics should not be aired in books that are aimed at saving the planet.

Other topics causing concern are for example is Salmon fishing – this has been split into sections dark green etc. However sustainable farming of Salmon is not as clear cut and therefore cannot be deemed Dark Green. Also, this book had many inconsistencies from the views of the author (which are in each section) for example the author berates wine imported ‘from far away’ however find the eating of Fairtrade bananas acceptable (they are brought in from other countries too!). These things make the book hard to read – there has to be one consistent stance for what is Green – light or dark, this should not vary depending on the item reviewed in the section of the book.

This is a great idea in theory however as mentioned you cannot write a book which contradicts itself so often.  The basis of many of the Green / Dark Green / Not green are great and are worth reading however the topic of Drugs instantly turned me off to the rest of the book.  2/5

Cost: £10.99